"Dechan Fraser."

"Fraser?"

"That's right." Dechan didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the total mystification in her voice. "Don't you have a battlegroup to run or something?"

"I thought you didn't want to get involved."

"I didn't."

"Then why?"

That's what he'd been asking himself. "If I figure it out, maybe I'll let you know."

The sounds of the BattleMech combat grew fainter as the combatants moved further away.

"You saved my life."

"In the Combine that would make me responsible for you."

"Don't know about that, but you just became responsible for quite a bit. I hope you get a fair reward."

Whatever that meant. The only thing Dechan was sure he wanted was to see Jenette again. But that wouldn't happen until the battle was over. Mustering his composure, he said, "You just get your people together. We've got work to do."

"Turncoats don't make very trustworthy allies."

"Neither do spies. Sometimes you've got to take what you get, if you want to win. You want my help or not?"

"Like you said, sometimes you just take what you can get."

52

Even as a peacetime maneuver, the withdrawal from the mock factory would have been a tricky feat of coordination. With the 'Mechs of Beta Regiment and Elson's Elementals pressing us, I had not expected it to succeed. But the Wolf knew our capabilities better than we did; both phases had gone well.

Our 'Mechs fled the built-up area in apparent, and near real, disarray. Taking the bait, the BattleMechs of Beta Regiment pursued, catching us when we slowed among the gulches and low buttes to the south of the complex. It was prime in-fighting territory, something we couldn't afford to do for long against the fresher machines and more experienced pilots of Beta. They knew it, too; they came charging in after us. We lost three 'Mechs in the first ten minutes of the engagement.

I think the only thing that kept us from falling to them was the knowledge that we wouldn't have to face those odds for long. There were cheers on the tactical channels when Rand reported the first of our zoomers screaming in behind the Beta 'Mechs.

The Wolf had called this part of the battle "phase two," a prosaic name for the whirling snarl of laser beams and rocket exhausts that was our Elementals' assault on the surprised 'Mech pilots of Beta. Shadd's Elementals caught them from behind, completely unaware.

In the close confines of the gullies, the 'Mechs had a hard time getting away from the Elementals. The battle-armored infantry swarmed individual 'Mechs, clambering over light models and ripping through their armor. I watched one Hornetrise on billowing clouds of jet exhaust in an effort to shake off its tormentors. Some debris fell away and, after an instant, the trajectory shifted slightly. Smoke began to taint the exhaust, then there was a flash of light and the Hornetstarted to wobble. It tilted toward the ground, finally shaking off three armored infantrymen when it was less than twenty meters from the ground. The troopers used their jump packs to cushion their landing. For the Hornet,there was only fiery oblivion.

The Hornetwas a mere twenty-ton BattleMech, the lightest of our opponents. The Elementals didn't fare so well against the bigger machines, whose armor withstood their attacks long enough for a beleaguered 'Mech to free itself or have a comrade come to the rescue.

The surprise attack of the Elementals gave my battlegroup a chance to collect our wits. Seeing the Elementals throw the Betas into such confusion gave us enough hope that we rallied. When we saw that the armored troopers had exhausted their missiles, we charged. We pushed hard, but not hard enough to knock Beta out of the fight.

I saw Hans Vordel's Victortake a hit from a 200-millimeter autocannon in the midst of a punishing salvo of missiles. The eighty-ton 'Mech shivered under the impact, then froze. I thought the old beast had only shut down from overheat and shifted my Lokiin its direction, hoping to provide cover so the enemy wouldn't rip it apart before the pilot could restart the fusion reactor. I hadn't covered fifty meters before the Victorshuddered again. The oscillations increased with frightening speed, and then the 'Mech's right arm disintegrated in a shower of shrapnel. The machine toppled backward, twisting to fall on its left side. Even amid the roar of combat, I heard the thunder of its fall. Searing beams reached for the fallen 'Mech, ravening over its surface and boring into the gaps in its armor. It blew apart as one of those beams found its ammunition bay and the remaining missiles detonated in a storm of fire. I throttled back. There was nothing I could do for the fallen warrior. I sent one of his killers a beam from the seven-centimeter laser in the Loki'sright arm and retreated. Warriors in my battlegroup were still fighting and they needed me more than did the dead man.

I didn't take too much damage escaping from Vor-del's slayers. They pulled back when I ran through a position held by our Elementals, allowing me to rejoin one of my lances.

I moved the remnants of the battlegroup into an area of low gravel mounds near the remains of the processing machinery, a position that gave us a commanding view of the highway leading south into the heart of the Tetsuhara Proving Ground. Somewhere down that road lay the Colonel's command post and the last of our reserves. Further down and away to the east, Maeve was leading the resistance to Gamma Regiment's advance. The jamming we were using against the enemy was also preventing us from keeping in close communication with our scattered forces. I prayed she was doing better than I was.

Down among the gullies, Beta was gaining the upper hand. I watched as a pair of heavy 'Mechs ganged up on a Wolfhound.The pilot in the light 'Mech fought back valiantly for the two minutes it took his bigger opponents to burn, crater, and crack enough armor to expose the Wolfhound'sinner structure. I saw the pilot eject just before the smaller of the two heavies slammed into his 'Mech.

I intercepted a tight-beam communications laser between two of Beta Regiment's units flanking our position. The sender was reporting what I already knew: BattleMechs were approaching from the heart of the Tetsuhara Proving Ground, Wolf Pack 'Mechs. The Wolf himself was coming.

* * *

If Wolf was coming out of hiding, the decisive battle was underway. Elson only wished that the battle was unfolding as he had planned rather than as Wolf had. But there was no use in complaining, or cursing. The jamming made coordinating the attacking forces impossible; only direct action could shift the initiative back in his favor.

The 'Mech battle was several kilometers away, but there was no choice but to continue toward it. He urged his troopers to greater speed. Elementals launched on steamy clouds to go bounding away across the plain, following the trail of the Beta 'Mechs.

Elson hoped they would reach the battlefield in time to make a difference.

* * *

The arms of Alicia Fancher's Gladiatormoved in an awkward parody of a traffic cop. Without reliable radio communications, she was using hand signals from her 'Mech to direct her units. It was moderately effective, as long as her MechWarriors remembered to make visual checks on their commander. At least one company responded to her attempts; they headed out to block Colonel Wolf's advance.

But such a mechanism required her to expose her position, allowing us to see her, too. With most of the battlegroup well out of effective range, she was relatively safe until some of our 'Mechs could get closer.